WhatsApp is working on adding Two Factor Authentication to its apps

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms in a whole bunch of countries; however, it’s not very feature rich – in fact, most of its competition offers a better service.

WhatsApp has been working hard on adding features common to its competitors; two-factor authentication seems to be the next step – a great thing to rejoice for those who care about security.

The news comes via MicrosoftInsider.es who managed to get their hands on a translation request from the WhatsApp team, thanks to a helpful reader (hint). The email details several phrases related to two-factor authentication; the phrases also give us a hint towards what’s coming for WhatsApp.

Privacy

Facebook acquired WhatsApp for US$ 22 billion in 2014, and since then there have been quite a few privacy woes; more recently, WhatsApp updated its privacy policy to allow Facebook access to its data.

The latest translation strings appear to require users to link email with their accounts – something new to WhatsApp, as up until now it only required user’s phone numbers.

While the addition of 2FA is great for security, the latest privacy policy changes and the request for more user data is a bit concerning for those who care about privacy.

Availability

Considering the WhatsApp development team is looking for translations; the feature development is probably in its last stages. though it would probably appear in the beta app before rolling out to all users.

As for when the general public could enable 2FA – nobody can estimate that, though it would probably appear in the beta app before rolling out to all users.

The 2nd email from the WhatsApp team mentions Windows Phone in its subject – confirming that 2FA will indeed be coming to the Windows version of WhatsApp.